Emotional Animals

[justZu]

Another forum I read had a thread debating whether or not animals had genuine emotions. I thought it was kind of silly, as my dogs show emotions all the time.

Right now I am on the recieving end of two very frosty cold shoulders and two cases of Stink-eye, due to the fact they each recieved a well-deserved bath this morning.
They are both laying on the couch staring at me as if to say "That was NOT funny, we hate you until dinner time". I think I make it worse because they look so much like offended people, that I have to laugh. :lol:

So, what does everyone think - do animals have emotions or not?

[NightAngel]

Oh, I'm positive they do. How any person could ever live with an animal and think they don't is beyond me.

[protege]

I do know that kitty gets scared when 'strangers' come into his house. He usually takes off and hides downstairs, usually behind the furnace. He also gets mad when it's time to apply his anti-flea spray. That's always a fun time :rolleyes:

[blas]

Fat Cat hates arguments........it makes me feel better because every time I go to my parents house and my mother starts raising her voice with me and flipping out over the slightest thing, the cat will let out this 20 second high pitched "MEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOW!". Kind of like a little kid yelling "Stop fighting!"

[BookstoreEscapee]

Oh, heck yeah, they do...

Pablo wants to sit with you all the time; if he doesn't get his way he tends to get huffy (literally, he lets out this big sigh); I call him Mr. Huff-n-puff when he does it. Then he'll lay there looking all sad.

My cat Stars is a fraidy-cat...she's scared of every little movement and noise. If you scare her she'll go hide under a bed somewhere. When she's feeling playful she'll lay on her side and grab for my feet when I'm sitting at the computer. But if you look at her she'll stop and look up at you and then away like she's embarrassed at being caught playing. She also begs for food at dinner. We put peas on the edge of the table and she reaches up and pulls them off and then plays soccer with them before eating. And sometimes she'll look at her brother and you can just see "Come play with me" in her face.

[DesignFox]

They absolutely do. There's one cat at the barn that follows me all over the place. She comes running when she hears my car pull in. As soon as I get out she comes to meet me, looks up at me with her pretty green eyes and lets out the cutest little "pet me!" meow you ever heard. Then she tags along to where I give her her treat, follows me while I use the bathroom, follows me out... :) etc.

If I sit, she'll jump right on me until she can sit in my lap, or she'll rub against my legs to get picked up and hugged and petted.

She has also jumped in the car on more than one occasion.

My trainer says, if that cat had ever had a choice of human, it would have been me. She has also noticed that the cat would follow me home in a heartbeat, and that I am the only human she'll appear for if she's been out hunting. It's an amazing feeling. I love that kitty!

And anyone who has ever talked to me about the horses will observe that sometimes its hard to tell if I am talking about horses or other people- they have personalities like you wouldn't believe! :lol:

Its impossible at the barn to tell sometimes if my trainer is having a convo with you, or the horse. You can see how much she loves them, and they love her- just by their interactions. :)

Horse people know what I mean. You get a special sort of bond with the animals you ride/care for. I love my Sidley (even though I just lease him). And another person at the barn has observed our interactions and has told me, "He loves you. I can tell." :D

[XCashier]

I've had many pets, dogs and cats, and I have so many stories about them they would take up the entire thread. Suffice it to say, I have seen them demonstrate many emotions, including humor, grief, sympathy, friendship, mooching, craziness, happiness, sadness and love. Lots of love. :love:

[Crazyredhead]

I know that my Vazquez has feelings. She was badly abused when she was little, before I brought her home, and everytime my husband walks into the room she will run and hide. She was very badly abused by an adult man and that is why she is scared of my hubby and of all men. She tolerates the boys cause she knows that they are little and she grew up with them.

I also have another cat, he is male. He just showed up at the door one day and made this his home. He is a big orange tom and has a torn ear. He is the laziest thing (common man). He will just sprawl himself across my coffee table and just look at you, he also like to lay across the floor and will not move for anyone, he won't even move for a vehicle that is backing up into the driveway. He is a loveable guy and will talk to you.

Although Vazquez and Ruki have there disagreements they get along, most of the time.

[booger]

Spook (aka Pookie) is the biggest ball of love cat ever, and he has lots of feelings. When we go to bed, he gets lonely and meows pitifully outside the bedroom door. And when we talk to him, he lets out a questioning "Mew?" like "You're talking to ME?" and then he will start purring. Little guy loves attention. And if you pet him, he purrs so loudly that we joke that his purr might break. :)

And my other cat, Boo, is the queen of everything, so she is the master of sitting in high places and looking down on her sublects and giving them the stink-eye. But when she gets lonely, she'll curl into a ball near me and purr real quiet. If she is super happy, she'll let out a little squeak.

[BookstoreEscapee]

And if you pet him, he purrs so loudly that we joke that his purr might break. :)

. If she is super happy, she'll let out a little squeak.

hehe, when my cats get going I start singing Born to Be Wild ("get your motor running...")

Stars doesn't meow, she squeaks. It's so cute :)

[Argabarga]

Wait, this is even open for debate?

of course animals have emotions

Maybe they aren't as developed and nuanced as humans, (I don't think they have a concept of things like "beauty" "truth" or "equality") but they definately have "love" "hate" and "playful" down.

[Jpurple]

Exactly right, Argabarga. Not only do dogs and cats have emotions, even less intelligent animals can and do show a wide range of emotions. Over the years, I've seen rabbits demonstrate happiness, sadness, curiosity, loneliness, anger, love, hate, jealousy, grief and fear.(well, they are prey animals- fear comes naturally)
Heck, I even had a cow once that I could tell when he was happy, sad, lonely, or annoyed by the horses.

[Andara Bledin]

No question at all.

Any one who has had a cat has seen them do the "I mean to do that" wash routine.

In one case, we had a cat that came tearing into a kitchen, intending to turn and head out the other door into the front room. He hit the throw rug, it slid, and he ended up running into the fridge sideways. He stopped, looked at the humans in the room who were laughing at him and quite nonchalantly started washing as if he'd meant to do that all along.

We had another cat that went to jump up onto the couch and she missed the mark and ended up hanging by her claws from the end of the armrest. She, too, looked around at the people in the room who were chuckling. Only she got this wide-eyed "you're laughing at me" look and scampered out of the room.

^-.-^

[Writer Cath]

My old horse Johnny definitely had a sense of humor. He always knocked me off the stool when I was trying to pull his mane.

My dog Seltzer, she was definitely queen of the house. If we went on vacation or got home after a long absense, she'd greet you all happily for about five minutes, then realize she was mad at you. Then you got the cold shoulder until you gave her a treat.

[MadMike]

Definitely.

When we took in another cat, the first cat was so angry, he wouldn't even let me touch him for a couple days after that. If I tried, he'd give me a really bad look.

But they eventually came to tolerate each other, and even like each other. So much that when the new cat unexpectedly died a year later, the other one cried along with the rest of us. It was so sad, he kept sniffing around the house trying to find him, and for weeks afterwards, he sat in the dining room window and just would not stop crying. I think he saw me burying the other cat.

[XCashier]

...when the new cat unexpectedly died a year later, the other one cried along with the rest of us. It was so sad, he kept sniffing around the house trying to find him, and for weeks afterwards, he sat in the dining room window and just would not stop crying. I think he saw me burying the other cat.
Aw. :( Animals do form friendships, and they will grieve when their loved ones die.

When our dog Princess died, the cats were all lined up at the front window for three days, as if they were looking for her to come home. They looked so sad.

[Andara Bledin]

Animals know when another animal dies as opposed to just being relocated.

When you relocate a companion, they'll wander around and act lonely, but when the other one has died, they do cry. When my orange kitty Rufus died from a urinary tract problem, our other kitty, Dorian, wandered around the house whining for weeks. We got Simon about a month after Rufus went, and Dorian cheered up considerably.

^-.-^

[BookstoreEscapee]

A girl I worked with often house/dogsits for her neighbors, and she pretty much has free reign of the house and has parties and stuff. They have 2 (not-so-mini) mini schnauzers, and the girl is very shy. She will usually stay in the bedroom, and if you come too close she will growl. They boy barks at anyone who comes in the house until you give him a snausage, and then he's ok with you (and each person in a group has to give him one).

[Kuterthnur]

They really do. My little dog will actually give you this grin when she is happy and you go to touch her, she smiles and it's really funny.

[myswtghst]

Plus, anyone who has cats knows that they'll hold a grudge. Ever had a cat walk into the room, look pointedly at you, then vomit on your carpet? I have. :p

[iradney]

Hehe...my doggie DEFINITELY has emotions! When he wants attention he puts his head on your lap and looks up at you imploringly! When I haul out the nail clippers (for his dew claws - his other nails are worn down naturally from our runs) he gets this "oh no" look in his eyes.
And when I bath him, he gets this look of resignation that just screams "fine fine just get it over with already!"

[AFpheonix]

Oh definitely. Even as young-uns they have definite personalities and mood swings.

I've had training horses throw temper tantrums before. Literally throw themselves on the ground if they don't want to do something. And once they figure out how easy it was to do in the first place, they look relaxed and happy, licking their lips.
We had one smart gelding once who was being used for a lesson horse, and he knew the difference between a good rider and a bad one, and would be a royal pain for the newbies.
So one day I got on, and had to pretend to ride badly: bringing my legs up so they'd hit on his sides closer to where a little kid's would, tensing my stomach muscles so I wouldn't move with him and bounccing, and he fell for it. He was so genuinely suprised when I dropped my legs back down and reprimanded him for his crap, he literally sat down.

The look on my mare's face after she kicked me without thinking was hilarious. She definitely had an "oh, SHIT!" moment. I figured she'd punished herself enough just pondering what the consequences were going to be that I didn't get after her at all. :lol:

When my dad went to the hospital and passed away, our elderly dog was just despondent. She had stayed near him for close to 15 years, and she was beside herself when she couldn't find him. She looked in his favorite chair, she peeked on top of the bed, she went to check by the toilet....poor thing.
All the dogs are kind of mopey when mom goes on vacation. They perk up when they hear her car from 1/2 mile away.